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Joint pain is the inflammation of one or more joints and is characterized
by pain, swelling, stiffness, deformity and/or diminished range of
motion.
The two most
common forms are arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid
arthritis. Osteoarthritis is the result of the deterioration
of the cartilage that covers the ends of the bones and is
most prevalent in people after forty years of age. It is
a degenerative joint disease or DJD that is sometimes caused
by injury or a defect in the protein that makes up cartilage.
In most cases it is simply the result of aging. When the
once smooth surface of the cartilage begins to break down,
the surfaces which would normally slide against one another
become pitted and irregular. As the tendons, ligaments and
muscles that hold the joint together become weaker, the
joint itself becomes deformed, painful and stiff. Pain often
accompanies osteoarthritis, but there is little or no swelling.
Unlike osteoarthritis,
rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis are types of
inflammatory arthritis which most commonly occur in people under forty
years of age. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder in which
the body's immune system improperly identifies the membranes that secrete
the lubricating fluid in the joints as foreign. Inflammation results,
and the cartilage and tissues in and around the joints are damaged
or destroyed. In many cases the bone surfaces themselves can be destroyed
as well. The body replaces the damaged tissue with scar tissue, eventually
causing the spaces between the joints to become narrow at which point
the bones fuse together. Rheumatoid arthritis creates anaemia, fever,
weight loss, fatigue, stiffness, swelling and often crippling pain.
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